Friday 24 August 2007

4ply cardis and happy pals!

Well - the weather up here in fabulous Fife is glorious! It has been in the high twenties for the last three days - can't believe it - the kids are back at school and the sun is taunting them! :0) Hope it lasts for the weekend so they can get out and have some fun in it!

I am busily knitting up some prem cardis in 4ply - apparently the biggest needs in the prem baby units are for cardis and hats for the wee ones once they can come out of the incubators so from 10" size up to around the 14 to 16" sizes would be best. They also need small baby blankets in close knit patterns (don't want to catch any tiny, fragile fingers in lacey designs!). Very useful information for us as we wouldn't want to be busily knitting thing sthat are not required! Once I have a decent set of samples made up I will pop round some of the local maternities and let them tell me which items they need most!

My secret pal got her parcel today and she was over the moon with everything in it - her blog has been updated today already - she posted photos of every item and seemed to be over the moon - this is what makes SP such fun! I can't wait to see what my own 'spoiler' picks out for me - it's a bit of a hit and miss affair as sometimes you get someone (a bit like me I guess) who really gets carried away with it all and sends loads of things regularly during the 3 months and then you get the ones who stick rigidly to the amount suggested and use it to buy one larger item at the start and finish. I like the small parcels often route best as it keeps the excitement going and you know you have made your pal really happy! Bet you are all dying for the next round to start in December sop you can all join up for SP12! :0)

Right - if I go and get the floors mopped and feed the mega mutts I can maybe get some more knitting done before DH returns from work :0)

Keep Smiling!

Thursday 23 August 2007

I've Got a New Pal!

Well - I have just checked my e-mails to find messages from my Hostess and Shelby telling me that I have been sorted out with my new secret pal and then hey presto - there was a message saying she had been away on a business trip for a few days and was back now and wanted to confirm my details! So I am in business - she sounds nice - it will be great getting to know someone else!

I have already posted my first parcel off to the lady I am spoiling and have had several very excited e-mails back from her. I can't wait to see her reaction when she gets it!

Thanks to Jenn and Shelby my SP11 hostesses for getting in touch and sorting out the SP for me!

Have spent this evening writing thank you notes for all the lovely donations we have had from people who I do not have e-mail addresses for. It is always nice to be recognised for the hard work done to make lovely baby things, blankets, shawls, knitted boobs etc.

OK - almost time to go home from work now - just sneaked in to add this note as things were quiet!

Hope I get a decent sleep today!

Saturday 18 August 2007

Rainy Saturday!

Hi Guys!

Another rainy miserable Saturday! I have just been out and bought a very nice sturdy set of scales so that I can start weighing these parcels myself as I wrap them - you can only send up to 5kg in weight to Africa through the post office and it is murder if you go to all the trouble of packing something just to find it is too heavy once you get there! This way I can check the weight before I seal the package and we will be sorted (I can also work out how much it will be to make sure we have enough postage money too!).

I was in Kirkcaldy this morning and bought a lovely cat mug and some lavendar scented tealights for my secret pal - she loves cats and her favourite scents are things like lavendar and flowers so hopefully she will like these! I also got a lovely card with cats on it so I can send her a nice message - secret pal is great fun :0) Apparently I wasn't the only one who was given someone who lives close by - one of our members has left a post saying it has happened to her as well. The SP hostess says she doesn't know the geography of the uk as she has only ever been out of the states once and that was just to go to Canada. It might be quite nice to have someone close enought to meet up with after the reveal though - could end up making a new friend! :0) We still don't know who will be spoiling us yet so it may be that they come from far away - mmmm exciting!

I am half way through the prem baby blanket I have been making - it is the first time I have made one on the diagonal like that and it is quite fun to do - we will see how it looks when it is done.

I will post a photo of our Cheeky Gorilla on here next week - we are doing a guess his birthday contest at £1 a guess and the ladies in the post office here have put him on the counter to get people to buy guesses. If any of you members would like the chance to win him and help out with the postage fund at the same time then send your £1's to me at Loving Hands Charity Knitting Group, 18 Clentry Crescent, Kelty, Fife. KY4 0LG.

Also here is a message from our lovely Ann on the Isle of Man - she found a contest where an Australian charity knitting group are trying to win a $5,000 prize - it needs people to vote for them to win - I have been going on to both the sites Ann mentions and putting on 20 votes on each site every day - it doesn't take long and it is helping a fellow group to raise much needed funds! If any of you can help give it a go - every vote will help them!

Hi, there is a charity knitting group in Australia that is in a final in a competition to win lots of money if they get enough votes, you can vote up to 20 times a day, though sometimes error messages come up , just have to be patient, pass it on to any of your group that have internet please, must raise the profile of charity knitting.



There are 2 sites -- you can vote from either (or both)

http://www.femail. com.au/cash- grant-finalists. htm
http://www.girl. com.au/cash- grant-finalists. htm

scroll right to the bottom of the page and vote for Knitting for Brisbanes Needy. According to the blurb you are allowed 20 votes per day ---- sometimes you get more, sometimes less. Oh, and put your CAPS lock on!!


Fingers crossed for our Australian colleagues - it's all good if you Give with Love! :0)

Talk to you all soon - shopping, washing, floor scrubbing and then some more knitting till tea time I think!

Friday 17 August 2007

Secret Pal!

I have got my match for Secret Pal 11 - a bit baffled by this one - apparently - even though this is an SP with members from all over the world they decided - in their wisdom - to allocate me someone to spoil who lives less than 40 miles away from my house! I will have to be really devious to try to stop her figuring out I am close by before the event finishes at the end of November.

Wonder who has been given my details - it is a different person who will be spoiling me - I am really excited about this and hopefully this time I will have a really good one (the last two times the people who were meant to spoil me were rather frugal and certainly didn't get into the swing of the secret pal thing at all - hopefully this is third time lucky!).

I have been on my SPs Blog and already have a lot of ideas for things I can send to her - I love to pack up large boxes full of lots of surprises - I imagine what their faces will be like when they start to open everything - it is such fun trying to make sure that you pick things they will love! She has filled in her questionnaire and given me lots of information about her likes and dislikes so hopefully I will manage to make her really happy! :0)

Got a parcel from Shelley Mitchell (Preemiesuk) this morning - 50 tiny baby burial buntings and some washcloths - thanks Shelley! I am sure Val will make use of them - they must have a lot of losses over there :0(

I also got a parcel from Ann on the Isle of Man the other day containing lots of tiny prem hats, shoes and mittens - they are so sweet - they have been put into the box I am filling for Shelley - she will be so pleased - thanks Ann!

We have a guess the Gorilla's birthday thing going on in the local post office to try to raise funds for postage - hopefully we will get a good response.

Right -must go off and pick up the kids from school!

Talk to you all soon!

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Secret Pal 11

This is for my Secret Pal - I have signed up for the 11th round of Secret Pal which is an American based secret gifts swap for knitters and crocheters - the rules mean I need to publish this questionnaire and follow ups on the Blog site for my new pal to see - it is great fun - I have been in two before - so I hope you don't mind following my exploits through SP11!

Found the questionnaire on the SP11 site today so have done it properly for you - hope it helps!

Here are is the questionnaire for SP11. Please be sure to post it in a spot on your blog where your pal can easily find it. Since your pal will use this to help create your packages you'll want to have it posted to your blog no later than August 15th.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I like to knit with all sorts of yarns but prefer something nice and soft that shows off the pattern and texture you are knitting.

What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I hate nasty scratchy hard yarns in yucky sludgy coours!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? One of those large three drawer plastic filing cabinets - I have lots of equipment!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? More than 40 years - I learned at my mother's knee when I was just tiny!

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? Definitely advanced!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No

5. What's your favorite scent? I like things like Eden and Ultra Violet - nothing too strong

.6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Definitely

Favorite candy? All of it!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I like to do cross stitch, tapestry, card making, rug making and have tried lots of other things as well.

Do you spin? No - never fancied that one!

8. What kind of music do you like? Country and Western, Folk, Some Pop music.

Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) Yes

.9. What's your favorite color(s)? Pretty bright colours like shocking pinks, golden yellows, orange, emerald green and bright blue! Any colors you just can't stand? Dark sludgy colours!

10. What is your family situation? I have 6 kids ranging from 27 down to 6 and a lovely wee 2 year old grandaughter.

Do you have any pets? 3 dogs, one cat and an ancient rabbit!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Not personally - I prefer a cardigan or a big comfy wrap!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Baby things.

13. What are you knitting right now? Premature baby things for a UK charity.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Straight.

Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Not keen on plastic but I do have bamboo, wood and aluminium.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? No

17. How old is your oldest UFO? I don't have any - I always finish what I start!

18. What is your favorite holiday? A cabin in a remote spot somewhere in Scotland - bliss!

19. Is there anything that you collect? Hedgehogs and Penguins are my latst craze!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? I saw a new tea cozy pattern book somewhere recently - that would be cool and I love some of these fabulous needles they produce nowadays which are all painted and pretty but you need to take out a bank loan to buy most of them!

What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Simply Knitting and Knitting.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Not that I can think of.

22. Are you a sock knitter? Have done in the past - lots of aran kilt socks for a local pipe band - haven't made any since then though!

What are your foot measurements? lenght 8 1/2 inches and 9 inches around instep!

23. When is your birthday? 21st July.

24. Are you on Ravelry? Yes - I am on the waiting list to get on here.

If so, what's your ID? I am number 22980 on their list and apparently as of today there are still 14.489 people ahead of me to get on so it might take a while!

Phew - that took a while! Hope it is useful for you!

Another Message From Africa!

Morning Everyone!

Lovely morning today - my kids just went back to school so peace reigns supreme in Loving Hands Headquarters at the moment!

Great news yesterday - we got a couple of donations towards postage thanks to the sterling work of Kate in the local post office! She made a set of our 'boobs' for a lady who didn't like the prosthetics she had been given - she apparently loves the knitted ones and has donated £10 as a thank you - Kate also made an adult sized baby bonnet and bootees for one of her colleagues who was going to a fancy dress party and that happy lady donated another £5 - thanks Kate - you are a star!

We are now going to ask the Post Mistress if she will let us put a giant Gorilla in the post office shop and ask customers to guess his birthday - this should generate some more much needed income to get these parcels off to Africa!

Talking about Africa - I had an e-mail last night from Cerys at the Volunteer Centre. The parcels posted over after the knitathon have arrived and Val is delighted with them - I have attached her e-mail for you all to see - She must have been so thrilled getting so many parcels at once!


"thank you all so much for the nine bags of baby items that you sent over.
there is a website about the baby project.im not sure of the address as i just put up baby pack project.i just do the packing the parcels and getting them out to the mums.
i have been able to send a lot of them out this week with all your help.thank you so much for thinking of us.
there is such a big need here in south africa for clothes of all sorts.the packs we make up are a real blessing to these mums as they have nothing for there babies.
please keep up the good work that you are doing for all the charities as if it was'nt for people like yourselves we could'nt do much here.
God bless you all
val bailey
the baby pack project"


We are doing great folks - now we mustn't get complacent. Loving Hands is like a puppy - not just for Christmas! We are going to keep on going and help as many people as we can! At the moment I am busy making up a lot of prem baby samples which I will take along to the two local maternity hospitals. Apparently each unit has their own way of doing things and not all of them use the same items.

Check out this site for patterns for lots of prem baby things:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/my_pages/babywear/hkp/025.shtml

We are making things for Preemiesuk already - Shelley tells me they are in need of wee blankets, cardigans, bootees and hats so we will make sure she gets a nice load of those very soon! She is sending us some things over as well as she had some extra burial buntings (for the wee lambs who sadly don't make it) and also some wash cloths that she and her young son have been making - thanks Shelley!

Last night I was working on an Angel Pocket (one of the patterns on the above link) I was crying as I made it - just knowing what it was for was enough to reduce me to bits. When I told the girls at the Kelty group they said the same thing happens to them - we are such a tender hearted bunch aren't we. I guess the best way to look at it is that these little touches might give some comfort to grieving parents - but please girls - if it hurts too much don't make the sad things - I don't want parcels of soggy items flooding in to the office :0) Thankfully there is far more need for the other things we make!

Right - I guess I had better go off and get some more work done! I have to sleep this afternoon before I pick the kids up as I work tonight - the joys of nightshift!

Keep smiling :0)

Saturday 4 August 2007

A Message from Baby Pack!

Just wanted to share with you all a lovely e-mail I got from Val Bailey in Africa yesterday - as you can see she is over the moon with the news about the wonderful donations of nappies from Tommee Tippee and Lollipop Children's Products - thanks to them for their very kind gifts!


Hi all you good people
This is just great news,nappies are a thing that I just keep running out of. I was able to go out today and buy 58 and have the money to get another 70, this means I can get more packs out to the people who need them.

You know I keep telling people when they pray for something to believe in what they are praying for, I have been praying about nappies for the project and God has been so good ,it is just so uplifting to hear about the nappies. I will pray now for the funding to get them out here and I know I will be looking at them soon.

Thank you so much for all your hard work over there. Im so happy about this I'm punching the air.

THANK YOU
GOD BLESS
Val xoxox


I thought the best way to share this with you all was simply to copy and paste her message directly onto here for you all to see! This does make it all very worthwhile and it is nice to be able to share the excitement with all my lovely members.

This Blog is actually viewed by so many more people than I had ever imagined - I got a lovely e-mail from a wonderful American lady called Jean Ewing this morning. She says she has been enjoying reading our posts. She tells me that over there they have a project which teaches kids to knit at the High School she works in. Last year they made scarves, hats and blankets to send to Tsunami Africa and they think they will do the same this year. She asked me to send her some patterns for bonnets and sweaters which I have done - well done Jean - giving with Love is always good - keep up the good work!

Don't forget if you are visiting the Blog I would dearly love to hear from you - post a comment on here or send me an e-mail - it makes things seem all the more real when you get lovely feedback from readers and fellow members!

Right - back to knitting number one son his first Chenille birthday jumper - it took just 12 hours to make one for my 6 year old daughter yesterday and since last night I have completed front and back of son's one so these are very quick projects indeed. If I have left over chenille I can make it into hats and scarves for Blythswood - this stuff is really soft and cosy - would make a big difference in the hard winters over in Croatia and Albania :0)

Keep knitting girls!

If you have any donations ready to send you can post them to:-

Loving Hands Charity Knitting group,
18 Clentry Crescent,
Kelty,
Fife.
KY4 0LG
Scotland.

Talk to you soon!